Adalae and Orimi sat with their backs against a metallic gated wall as Ohemone fiddled with its control panel. A metal churn bellowed through the hall like a squawking bird, causing Orimi to stiffen, then let her nerves cool with a sigh.

“Versacat,” Ohemone swore under his breath. “Someone must’ve locked the door from the other side. This gate’s security interface requires a terminal for it to open.”

Adalae stood up and dusted off her back. “So, you’re saying we’re stuck unless they open it back up?”

Ohemone kicked the door, then squatted down with a nod. Adalae scrunched her nose, then walked over to the gate.

“Hey! Whoever’s over there, let us out!” She hollered while kicking and banging on the gate.

Ohemone jumped up and grabbed her arm. “What do you think you’re doing, you idiot?”

“The only idiot here is you if you think our only option is just sitting here!”

Adalae tugged her hand back and prepared another knock. However, the cracks between the door tore open with a puff of vapor and opened.

“See, was that so hard?” Adalae said with a sneer. Ohemone squinted his eyes in the mist, while Orimi retreated with a wide-eyed stare.

“Get back!” Ohemone wailed, pushing Adalae away as he pulled his repeater from his coat pocket. His head jolted as his entire body then slammed, face first, into the still-opening doors as he winced.

Gleaming through the darkness, a Scozacki materialized from transparent ripples, its eyes resembling gold coins. Ohemone raised his gun, but the Scoz whipped his hand with its tail, causing his pistol to slide across the ground.

The Scoz then limped through the door, raising Ohemone off the ground with its long, lanky fingers.

“If you’ve gotten this far, that means you’re the ones Guiya’s men tried to subdue in Section 8B,” she said with a flick of her forked tongue. “But you don’t look like soldiers… who are you allied with?”

Ohemone gasped beneath her fingers, “F-Flotilla… Insurgency…”

The Scoz blinked, then dropped Ohemone onto the ground as he gasped for air. She then glanced over at Adalae, then Orimi with a tilt of her head.

“The pink one. Who is she?”

Orimi took a step back with a gulp. “I-I’m…”

“She’s with us!” Adalae declared, her gaze firm. The Scoz locked its eyes on Orimi, watching her fidgeting fingers and the sweat trickling down her neck. After a moment, it turned away, shifting its focus back to Ohemone.

“You’re Rethatec’s second-in-command, correct?”

Ohemone nodded. “Yes, I am.”

“Good. We’re going to the main bridge. We’re not safe in low numbers, and I am injured. There’s a Patroller on board, along with a bounty hunter named C-Larka.”

“C-Larka?” Ohemone said and stood from the ground. “What would a high crimestat want with us? Do they know about the deal?”

“Don’t know. The two seemed to know each other, which isn’t good. The Patroller was formidable, but the hunter subdued her, meaning they’re a bigger threat.”

“Where did the Patroller go?” Adalae asked.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“They’re unconscious a few rooms back. One of you needs to carry her for questioning. If she wakes up, shoot her and be done with it.” The Scoz said, then looked down at the worm-like lumps bulging from her belly and chest. “Although my tail can regenerate, my internal organs require proper medical intervention.”

She then turned around and coughed. “Enough talk, we need to—”

— PANG

A sharp blue gleam shot through the Scoz’s standing leg, causing her to fall onto the ground with a yelp. She then looked up with a hiss, attempting to push her back against the wall.

Miya strode in front of her, aiming the nozzle at her head with a grin. “I saw you were having some trouble walking, so I helped you a bit. Better, no?”

The Scoz hissed, slicing its tail across the ground toward Miya’s legs. Miya dodged the assault and shot the Scoz’s appendage, making it flop on the floor as the Scoz screeched in agony.

“I’m sick of that fucking tail, and I’m definitely sick of you,” Miya said, then licked her upper teeth. She then aimed her gun down at the Scoz, lowering its shoulders with a flick of its tongue.

“Kekaara.”

“Miya, wait!” Orimi said and ran to her side. “She can’t fight back. Why are you torturing her?”

“Torture?” Miya said with a scoff. “She’s a cricker, one who’s probably tortured countless bouabrou amongst other misdeeds. I’m simply exacting justice as a Patroller under Gala Fol.”

“This… this isn’t justice… you’re just hurting her! Just take her into custody and we can—”

“We can, what, exactly? You really have some things to learn about how a cricker mind works. They’re not to be treated like bouabrou with standards or etiquette. They’re miscreants who’d give their lives for vices like greed and lust. You can’t reason with them, and I’m done reasoning with you.”

Miya turned and aimed her pistol at the Scoz’s head. Orimi then walked in front of the nozzle and scrunched her eyes.

“I said, we’re going to take her back, alive.”

Miya’s brown pupils dulled, and her irises gleamed a dark shade of maroon. She then angled her nozzle at Orimi’s shoulder.

“With this ray caliber, I’d be able to shoot past you and it would still hit my target. It wouldn’t kill you, but it would hurt very much.”

She then clasped her finger onto the trigger. “This is my final warning. As your squad captain, I’m ordering you to move, or you will suffer dire consequences.”

Ohemone pulled his repeater from his side and aimed it toward Miya. “If I let you kill her, then Harkod’s Fleet would assume that I partnered with a Patroller, and that wouldn’t sit well with my crew.”

He then walked over and planted the nozzle on the side of Miya’s head with a smirk. “You’re a Patroller alright. I can tell from the look in your eyes, and your misconstrued ideals over crickers not having etiquette was another dead giveaway.

“So here’s what’s going to happen next. You’re going to drop your gun, and we’re going to walk to the home bridge together, so you and your Patroller pal here can answer to Harkod. I’m sure he’ll thank me kindly for the person who decimated his entire troop in Section 8B.”

Adalae’s eyes widened. “What…? No… That… that couldn’t have been her…”

“It’s true, Ad. At one point, sure, Patrollers were good bouabrou who risked their lives for peace and prosperity, like the ones who saved us when we were kids. But once those damn Ya’valtians took over Gala Fol, everything changed, and they began enlisting highly capable soldiers who’d kill anyone to satisfy their violent desires. That’s why Flotilla bought a certain object from Harkod to level the playing field with those jukatim. It’s time we put you all in your place, Ya’valtian bitch.”

Miya ducked under Ohemone’s hand and folded his arm around his back, causing him to groan and drop his gun.

“Don’t call me Ya’valtian, miyak or donur.” Miya said and tightened her grip.

“Miya, stop!” Adalae wailed and ran over to him.

The Scoz’s tail, now half-grown, sliced under her feet and caused her to trip. The Scoz then lunged onto Adalae and held her up by the throat with a hiss.

“Enough talk! Take me to the bridge, or I’ll snap her neck with ease!”

Miya kicked Ohemone’s shin, causing him to sprawl to the ground. She then groaned and rolled her eyes.

“So many fucking distractions,” Miya said and pointed past Orimi’s face. “Here’s your lesson for today, troopie. The Butterfly Effect. Every action has a reaction, no matter how small. So when you make a decision…”

Miya clicked the trigger, causing a sharp blue beam to whisk past Orimi’s face and string through the Scoz’s left, gold-beaded eye in less than a second. Blue ooze splattered onto Adalae’s cheek as the Scoz’s eyes fluttered close, and she fell limp onto the ground.

“… Make sure it’s optimal, with as few inefficiencies as possible,” Miya said, then secured her gun in her thigh-holster.

Adalae stared at the ragged hole burned through the Scoz’s face, a whimper escaping her as she scooted along the floor. Orimi collapsed to the ground with a hick, her hand grazing the scorched cut on her cheek.

Miya glanced down at Ohemone, then kicked his repeater to his feet. “Now that you know how useless that is, make sure to never point it at me again. Now, let’s get going. This ‘Harkod’ a’ndaradoor you spoke of. I’d loved to meet him.”